Friday, April 17, 2009

spring!

I found some local rhubarb at Red Barn today, which means that spring is officially here and at some point in the not-too-distant future, there will be a strawberry-rhubarb pie coming out of my oven. (Strawberries are from last year, I froze about 20 lbs of them and we've barely made a dent. Note for next year: more blueberries, less strawberries.)

There are loads of greens available now: chard, spinach, lettuces of all sorts, beet greens, arugula, kale & cabbage tops, leeks, spring onions, salad mixes. It's time to overdose on the fibre, vitamins C & K1, and whatever else is in those lovely green veggies! There are also eggs everywhere (I think this is the "egg moon" that Jessica Prentice talks about in "Full Moon Feast") and we got our milk this week for the first time in months. (Nell gave birth to a big strong healthy calf named Oliver last week.)

And finally, fresh chickens are back in the smaller shops! Cowichan Bay Farms chickens can be found at Red Barn and hopefully soon again at Pepper's, and Dan's Country Farm Market has Stonefield Farms chickens which are huge, and even more delicious than the Cowichan Bay Farms ones.